by Nia Arthurs
“Here,” he guided. I stiffened at his nearness. He chuckled, low into my ear again, “Relax, Vegan. It’s just pizza dough.”
No, it’s you, you six feet of bearded hunkiness.
I tried to take his advice and loosened up.
“Great, now we just gather the dough into a pile,” he said softly and led my hands into the movement. “Then press the heel of your hand into it.” His arms brushed mine as we punched the ball of flour, yeast and water into submission. Archie then folded the thing, rolled it (using my hands of course) and we kneaded it again.
“I did it!” I yelled, laughing happily, turning my neck to look up at him.
“Nice work, Vegan.” Archie grinned down at me, still holding my arms from behind. His eyes held me captive; the silver in their orbs had darkened to a very pale blue. Time felt suspended as the muscles beneath mine contracted. The oven made a sound at that moment and shook us back to reality. Archie cleared his throat and stepped back.
“I-uh- I should fit that into a pan.”
“Right.” I agreed and moved out of his way. He deftly spread the now perfect dough into a round dish pan and fed both pans into the oven.
“Saved by the bell, huh?” I joked awkwardly, referring to the oven’s timer reminding us that the oven was on.
“I don’t know.” Archie replied, his eyes still that piercingly pale blue, “I kind of liked where things were going.”
“Ha-ha,” was all I could say. Was it just me or was the temperature rising in here? It was time to get out of the kitchen.
CHAPTER TWENTY
While the pizza crusts baked, I convinced Archie to have a dancing competition since he kept teasing me about the way he’d found me on the ladder when we’d first met.
“You have nothing on me.” I taunted.
“Let’s prove it.” Archie flung flak right back.
He found the song on his Iphone and connected it to his surround sound system. I felt the familiar beat and listened to the artist talking about shaking your tambourines. I rocked my head to the rhythm.
“You want to go first or should I?”
“You go.” Archie urged and so I did. My moves were definitely more tempered this time, but I gave it all I had.
“Okay my turn,” Archie bopped his head and then did a terrible rendition of the dougie and then the stinky leg, frantically waving his hands and legs in a wild dance that had me doubling over with laughter.
“Stop, that was terrible.”
“Oh yeah?” Archie advanced and danced wildly in front of me. I grabbed his arms and set them at his sides tempering his enthusiasm before he clocked me in the face. Archie took that as the opportunity to spin me around. We began a terrible performance of a Salsa which did not match the rhythm of the song at all. It was not a moment wrought with tension. We were being silly and light and having fun. It was probably my most favorite part of the night. Thankfully, the alarm on Archie’s phone cut our dancing short. We breathlessly trekked to the kitchen and he took out the crusts. I inhaled the rich scent and sighed.
Mm, so good.
Archie produced bowls of sliced onions, green peppers, pineapples, ham, pepperoni, tomatoes, and bacon bits, and black olives along with three different kinds of shredded cheese.
“I wasn’t sure what toppings you were into, so I bought as much as I could.”
“Aw,” I glanced at him, “Did you dice all of these… for me?”
“Well, I’ll eat the pizza too.” He pointed out, humbly.
“You doof.” I grinned, “I’m really getting excited now.”
He dimpled, “I’m glad to hear that.”
We worked alongside each other, spreading the tomato sauce over our fourteen inch pizzas and adding all the toppings that we wanted. I chose pineapples, pepperoni, and onions. Archie was not so selective. He sprinkled every potential topping unto his pizza. I laughed at his work. We slipped the pizzas back into the oven to bake for fifteen minutes and then Archie and I toasted the garlic bread that he’d bought from the grocery store.
“We could sit and talk or watch a movie,” he offered, “your choice.”
“Movie,” I said, “definitely the movie.”
Sitting alone with Archie eating pizza and talking about life could turn into something romantic, and I was trying very hard not to toe that line.
“Cool. What are you feeling?” he turned me to his DVD collection.
I shuffled around, “Anything Marvels related and any of the Spiderman movies. I’m obsessed with Spiderman.”
He laughed and moved to turn on the air conditioner, it really was getting hot in here, “We can have a Spiderman marathon.”
“Sounds good to me, although I don’t know if could keep myself awake for all that.”
Shrugging, Archie selected the first Spiderman film starring Toby Maguire, “it’s worth a try.”
We began watching the first film, paused the movie to take the pizzas out of the oven and then resettled into the couch with sodas and our piping hot meal. The pizza was delicious and I couldn’t complain, even though Archie totally punked me tonight when I’d expected to receive a gourmet meal. When the first movie was over, Archie ejected the DVD and returned it to its case.
“That was so good.” I groaned, glad that I’d taken off my pants earlier. That would have been unzipped anyway.
“The pizza or the movie?” Archie asked.
“The pizza.” I quipped, “But the movie was good too.”
“Ready for round two?” he asked.
“Bring it on.”
He slipped the next movie in the sequence and we sat back for the show. This time, Archie sat closer to my end of the sofa and kicked his socked foot onto the coffee table. My bare feet were tucked underneath me on the couch. Two hours later, my feet were beside his on the couch and my head rested on his chest. Sometime during the night, I’d grown sleepy and Archie offered his chest as a totally “friendly” gesture. Thinking that I was stronger than I was, I took the offer and felt a lot more comfortable.
“Susan,” Archie shook me a few minutes later, “Maybe I should take you home now. I don’t think you can handle anymore.”
“I’m up! I’m up!” I protested when he moved to palm his keys.
“Susan,” Archie started to argue with me.
“Come on.”I cut him off. “I at least want to finish the Toby Maguire series. There’s only one more movie.”
“Okay,” Archie conceded hesitantly. He quickly exchanged the DVD’s and resettled by my side on the couch. This time, I sat upright and managed to get through half of the movie before I leaned on Archie again. He put his arm around me so that I could fit more comfortably into his side and again I reminded myself that this was just a friendly gesture.
In what felt like minutes later, Archie woke me up. “Come on, princess. I need to get you home.”
“No,” I groaned, “let me sleep.”
“You can’t stay here.” Archie said.
“Why,” I argued sleepily.
I felt his hesitancy and wondered what the big deal was. I just wanted to be left alone so that I could return to the warmth of unconsciousness.
“You just can’t.” he said. “Susan,” he pushed at my shoulder, “I’ll carry you if I have to.”
If that was a threat, it was a pathetic one. I turned to a more comfortable position in reply. I heard Archie muttering softly about ‘the problems’ and ‘such a sexy woman in this house’ and then he left my hearing range. I settled deeper into sleep and dreamt that I was being lifted into the air. I rested on a cloud in the sky but the cloud was hard and kind of obnoxious.
“You’re kind of heavy for a little thing,” said the cloud as it drifted across the sky.
“That’s rude, Cloud,” I lightly scolded the mist. It was the only thing keeping me from plummeting to the earth so I definitely didn’t want to get on its bad side, “But I forgive you,” I added quickly.
The cloud muttered a few other words, but
I did not catch it.
“My gosh,” the cloud declared, sounding a bit choked up, “is she… she’s not wearing any pants under this thing.”
“Cloud, how do you know I’m not wearing pants?”
Suddenly, another cloud awakened, “that cloud is dead,” Cloud #2 said coldly.
I glanced at him with widened eyes, “How could he be dead? He was just talking to me! Wait, listen… he’s talking again.”
I leaned closer to the cloud and heard it softly praying … whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, whatever is pure, whatever is pure... Why was a dead cloud praying these things?
“It’s dead,” Cloud #2 pointed out.
“You don’t hear it talking?” I asked it.
“No,” Cloud #2 said.
“Go away, I don’t like you.” I told Cloud #2, “I like this cloud. And it is not dead,”
Cloud #2 huffed and evaporated.
I glared at where it had been for a moment before returning my attention to the fluffy cloud with the hidden strength. “You’re not dead, are you Cloudy. Ha, get it. Cloudy.”
“You’re so going to hate me for doing this,” Cloudy said.
“Why would I hate you, Cloudy? I love you.”
Cloudy started to shake and I held on for dear life. “Cloudy, what are you doing? Cloudy, stahp!”
Cloudy disappeared from beneath me and I fell a hundred miles per hour toward the hard ground. Just when I thought I’d become road kill or worse a pancake, a man caught me soundly in his grasp.
Archie.
“Come on, Vegan, wake up,” Dream Archie said. And then he kissed me and though I was confused, I kissed him back, closing my eyes and wrapping my arms around his neck to close the distance between us. But when I opened my eyes, I realized that I wasn’t dreaming anymore and Archie and I were making out in the cab of his blue truck. In real life! I pulled back and screamed,
“Ah!”
“Ah!” Archie shouted, sitting up suddenly and hitting his head on the roof of his truck. “Ow,”
“Why were you kissing me?” I yelled.
In pain and wincing from my volume, Archie returned in an equally loud voice, “I was trying to wake you up!”
“Why didn’t you shake me or something?”
“I did, you weren’t responding and I would have carried you in there too but I don’t know where your apartment key is.”
“It’s in my purse!” I bellowed before catching myself and calming down enough to speak rationally.
“Oh,” Archie said in an inside voice.
“Is your head okay?” I asked, realizing that he’d hit it pretty well.
“I’ll live.” Archie replied.
I nodded. “Okay, well thanks for the ride.”
And the kiss.
“You’re welcome. Thanks for hanging out with me tonight.”
“Sure,”
I got out of the car and hesitantly made my way to the apartment. For the first time in our entire acquaintance, Archie had not walked me to my door. Oh well, I was a big girl. I’d live.
Still in a dream-like haze, I entered my apartment, locked the door and forced myself to brush my teeth before flopping into bed. I’d face the events of this night in the morning, but right now I needed to get back to my dreams. I had a murderous cloud to berate.
The next day my alarm went off, disrupting my sweet sleep and prompting me to open my eyes. I was immediately assaulted by the sun rays filtering through my window which blinded me like lasers.
“Gah!” I protested and pulled my arm over my face. I rolled over carefully and grabbed my phone from the nearby nightstand. Groaning when I noted the time, I forced myself out of bed. I needed to get ready for church. Since Melody’s miraculous surgery, I hadn’t been keeping my end of the bargain. I went to the Holy Ghost Gym every week and though it was a good step, I hadn’t really given my all. I was determined to start over and do things right.
I stumbled to the shower and looked down at my shirt. The events of last night came barreling back to me like a flood. I was wearing Archie’s university T-shirt. I kissed Archie again last night.
Oh Lord have mercy.
Bits and pieces of the dream that I’d had came back to me as well when I turned on the faucet in the shower. I had a sinking suspicion that Cloudy was my subconscious filtering Archie’s words into my psyche. Stranger things had happened. Hopefully, not this strange though. Because if this were true, that would mean that Archie …
Oh, Lord have double mercy. I knew I should have kept my pants on last night.
Feeling like a heathen, which according to most religions I have been all my life, I stepped into a very conservative gray dress with a high neckline and below the knee hem length skirt which I’d worn to my grandmother’s funeral. In addition to tights, I wore a black silk underskirt beneath the cloth. It was probably a bit too late for all this, but better late than never.
Right?
I locked my apartment and then made my way to the Holy Ghost Gym, greeting some of the familiar faces as I power-walked by. When I arrived, Melody and Mia were already seated and the band had already struck up in a chorus. Archie nodded sweetly at me when he saw me enter and Jamie waved before bursting into an intense drum beat. I waved glibly in their general direction and scooted into the row.
“Hey guys,” I whispered.
“Hey, Susan.” Melody smiled at me as she clapped her hands and wiggled to the beat. I set down my purse and joined in the clapping. Though I knew that I was a phenomenally better dancer than Archie, I ranked somewhere in the hundreds when compared to Mia and Melody. The Caribbean women had rhythm and nothing I could do would ever match their moves. When the band finished their sets, Pastor Stanley stepped to the pulpit and read the announcements. My gaze met Archie’s of its own accord and I was so glad that the worship team members did not sit among the rest of the congregation. I could not handle being near to Archie right now. I quickly looked away.
After the announcements were read, Pastor Stanley began his sermon.
“When Jesus Christ came to earth, he preached one message: “The Kingdom”. But the Kingdom mandate of God had been around from before this world was formed. Turn to Genesis.”
I glanced at the projector screen since I still was not familiar enough with the Bible to find things on my own. The phrase at the front read, BE FRUITFUL, INCREASE AND MULTIPLY.
Pastor Stanley read the verse and then stepped away from the pulpit. “Be fruitful. Being fruitful is a proper beginning, but it does not stop there. It should evolve into the next phase which is to increase. Yes, I understand that sexual procreation is how this verse is usually interpreted but that is only part of the meaning. The Hebrew word for ‘increase’ can also mean ‘abundance’, ‘to be in authority’, and ‘to excel’. It gives the sense of refining your gift until it is completely unique.”
The short, black man raised his hands and shouted, “God put us on this earth to make it better. He placed in each of us a seed that will bloom to further His Kingdom, he gave us gifts that this world so desperately needs.”
He froze and closed his eyes as he said slowly,
“It is impossible to replicate what you have not developed. So, then, to increase means to have children, yes, but also to improve and excel. Perfecting your gift and becoming the very best you can possibly be at what you do is our duty as Kingdom citizens. It means learning how to manage the resources God has given you and developing a strategy for administering the increase that will come through refinement.”
“Amen!” A large boned lady in a hot pink dress stood to her feet, waving her arms.
The pastor continued, “By developing your gift, you make room for it in the world. The more refined your gift, the more in demand you will be. Proverbs 18:16 says “A man’s gift brings him before great men”. By refining your gift, you will be ushered before kings. What is your fruit—your gift? What are
you known for? What do you have that is reproducible? What quality or ability do you possess that causes people to seek you out? What dreams keep you up at night? What do you have to offer the world? Fruit must be reproducible or else it is not genuine. “Be fruitful” means to create fruit; “increase” means to reproduce it.”
Pastor Stanley returned to the podium and leant against it as though he were tired, “My people perish from lack of knowledge.” He sighed into the mike at his lapel, “What books are you reading? What T.V. shows are you watching? The places that you go and the friends that you hang around… are they refining your gift or tarnishing it?”
Pastor Stanley’ voice cracked and he could not finish. He waved up one of the other important looking men on the stage to take over from him. The next man said a few more words, prayed and then ended the service.
Normally, the building would erupt into the chatter of friends greeting friends and children bursting from their seats to play. This morning, however, a reverent hush swept the place and no one got up. No baby made a sound. I internalized the words of the Pastor and tried to answer some of those questions for myself.
What was my gift? I knew that I could speak well. I knew that I could read and that I liked the law. But that seemed so one-dimensional. Could I have been made for more? I groaned and covered my face with my hands. Those questions were too deep for me. Why couldn’t this place be more religious? The few times I went to church, I normally was not so reflective. I could get up from my seat and return to my life, secure in my ways and totally unaffected by the fact that Jesus died for my sins. I didn’t recall asking Him to do that so why was I supposed to feel guilty that He did?
But there was something or Someone in this room today. My eyes were being opened and though I knew that the Truth being revealed was going to change my life, I wasn’t sure that I was ready for the transformation.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I begged out of the Reyes family Sunday dinner. A part of it was due to Archie’s presence. I could not look at him without thinking of our kiss. But at the heart, I wanted some time alone to deal with the burning in my chest when I thought of Pastor Stanley’ sermon today. As soon as I walked home, I went straight for the book that the preacher man had given to me and dived in. The principles in the book were hard to grasp and sometimes, I had to reread a phrase just to ensure that I’d understood it correctly. All this talk about Kingdoms and authority and licenses made the idealisms of modern Christianity that I was faintly acquainted with seem saturated in ritual and dead practices.
